Steven C. Davies Vice President Project for Public Spaces Stephen C. Davies has a broad background in architecture,
urban design and user research. Since joining PPS in 1978, Steve has been involved in all aspects of PPS's work, and has directed close to 400 major projects, with a particular emphasis on
downtown revitalization. In addition, he oversees PPS's two program areas – transportation and public markets.Steve directs PPS's transportation projects, including street
improvement, traffic calming, transit access and facilities. Among the many projects he has directed concerning street and roadway improvements include a vision plan for Vassar College and
the Arlington Business District Association in Poughkeepsie, New York, involving the major redesign of a state road passing though the district; an angle parking program as part of a master plan
for San Bernardino, CA; redesign of a major arterial next to the St. Louis, MO Delmar light rail station; a downtown traffic calming demonstration program as part of the Boston, MA Transportation
Plan; an alternative traffic plan for Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, NY; and a plan to create a boulevard instead of a road widening along a suburban commercial strip in Woodmere Village,
Ohio. Current assignments include directing technical assistance for 11 rail stations in New Jersey, working with NJ Transit to create "Transit Friendly Communities," and
overseeing a street and transit improvement/revitalization plan for Farmington Avenue in Hartford, CT. Steve also has directed PPS's transportation research and training projects. He is
currently directing a major training program for the New Jersey Department of Transportation in the area of Context Sensitive Design. This training builds on three major studies for the U.S.
Transportation Research Board that Steve directed, including The Role of Street Design and Traffic Management in Supporting Transit and Livable Communities and
The Role of Transit in Creating Livable Metropolitan Communities. In addition, he is continuing to oversee new publications, workshops and conferences, and research with national
transportation associations around transportation and livability issues. For PPS's Public Market Collaborative, Steve was the project director for the PPS-Urban Land
Institutes' book, Public Markets and Community Revitalization. As an urban designer he brings the knowledge of how to make public markets work to benefit the surrounding community, and
has worked extensively on PPS public market studies including Eastern Market, Detroit, Michigan; Erie Street Market, Toledo, Ohio; Soulard Market, St. Louis, Missouri; and the Richmond, Virginia
Farmers Market. He has also managed feasibility studies for new public markets in such cities as South San Francisco, California; Boston, Massachusetts; and Burlington, Vermont. Among
the many downtown projects Steve has directed are downtown master plans for Orlando, FL; Worcester, MA; Springfield, MA; and San Bernardino, CA; design improvement plans for streetscapes, plazas,
central squares, and transit malls in Rochester, NY; Salt Lake City, UT; and New Haven, CT; and comprehensive downtown management plans for both large cities and small towns, including Hartford,
CT; Pittsfield, MA; and Hoboken, Madison and Morristown, NJ. Steve has also directed PPS's downtown mixed-use development projects, including a redevelopment plan for Renaissance Center in
Detroit, MI; and a master plan for a civic complex and new City Hall in Orlando, FL. Education
Williams College, Bachelor of Art in Art and Environmental Studies University of California, Berkeley, Masters in Architecture
Awards & Honors
John K. Branner Traveling Fellowship in Architecture Award Winner, National Endowment for the Arts Grant Recognition Program (West 46th Street Project) Citation, Urban Design Newsletter Awards (Exxon Mini-Park Project) Certificate of Merit, Municipal Art Society, New York City
(Museum Mile Study) Award Winner, National Endowment for the Arts Grant Recognition Program (Museum Mile Study)
Award Winner, International Downtown Executives Association Award, 1983 (Hartford Downtown Council/PPS Hartford Management program)
Award Winner, Presidential Design Jury, Federal Design Achievement Award, 1984, administered by the National Endowment for the Arts (H.U.D. project on downtown
improvements in seven cities) Publications
What do People Do Downtown? -- How to Look at Mainstreet Activity , National Trust
for Historic Preservation, 1981 Designing Effective Pedestrian Improvements in Business Districts, American
Planning Association, 1983 Managing Downtown Public Spaces , American Planning Association, 1984
The Effects of Environmental Design on the Amount and Type of Bicycling and Walking, Federal Highway Administration, 1993
Public Markets and Community Revitalization , Urban Land Institute and Project for Public Spaces, Inc., 1995
The Role of Transit in Creating Livable Metropolitan Communities, Transportation Cooperative Research Program, National Academy Press, 1997
Transit Friendly Streets: Design and Traffic Management Strategies to Support Livable Communities, Transportation Cooperative Research Program, National
Academy Press, 1998 The Transit Amenity Handbook and The Transit Design Game Workbook,
Transportation Cooperative Research Program, National Academy Press, 1999 How Transportation and Community Partnerships Are Shaping America, Part I:
Transit Stops and Stations , American Public Transportation Association, 1999 How Transportation and Community Partnerships Are Shaping America, Part II: Streets and Roads
, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, 2000 |
